Minimally invasive surgery is performed through small incisions in the body, into which trocar ports may or may not be placed. One or more surgical instruments are inserted through each incision in order to perform the surgical procedure. In order to effectuate one of the objectives of minimally invasive surgery, which is the minimization of incisions to the body to reduce healing time and scarring, it is desirable to minimize the number of incisions made in the body. The number of incisions and their placement are determined by the particular surgical procedure to be performed and the configuration of the instruments used to carry out that procedure. Circular staplers are often used in intestinal surgery and may be introduced transanally as part of a natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgical (NOTES) procedure.
The use of the same reference symbols in different figures indicates similar or identical items.